U.S. Riders Sweep World Cup Halfpipe

March 03, 2004

Under sunny skies and good Japanese vibes, U.S. riders Steve Fisher and Lindsey Jacobellis won the world cup halfpipe at Joetsu, Japan. Jacobellis completed an unprecedented triple win in three world cup events in three days–unbeatable in both days of boardercross and the final day in pipe.

Fisher topped the podium with enormous-sized airs, the signature Fisher BS five, a FS nine, and a silly big crip seven in his winning finals run. Germany’s Vinzenz Lüps took third place and Antti Autti, the spinnin’ Finn, couldn’t top Fisher’s score of 43.9, finishing second.

The organizers attempted a rake, slip, and salt before the finals but it did more harm than good. Steve Fisher described the scene, “The pipe was pretty beat for the finals, I crashed hard in my last practice run and was scared shitless for my finals run, but managed to pull through”.

Jacobellis spun a FS five stale on her first hit and a large FS 900 to take the win for the ladies. Second place went to Aussie Torah Bright, and Kelly Clark finished third after winning the qualifiers. Bright stomped one of the largest and smoothest McTwists ever on her third hit, grabbing mute all the way through. Measuring at least seven feet out, it was definitely a highlight of the day. Don’t think the women aren’t progressing, because they are still taking it to the next level.

Unfortunately, one of the Japanese forerunners took decking-out to the next level and landed a ninja dropkick on Hannah Teter’s back in practice the day before the event. Teter is the toughest. After a limp down from the pipe and a ride to the clinic for back x-rays (where they found a healed up back fracture she never knew about), she painfully took her contest runs the next day but was unable to qualify for the finals.

It was all about celebration for the US riders following the double win. The prize money was 12,700 dollars for the men and 8,700 dollars for the women and was paid in a stinky stack of U.S. cash money. After the pee test and money grab, the riders had a frenzied pack fest and five hour bus ride to downtown Tokyo where the debauchery ensued until daylight. And the beat goes on.